Lakshman was peacefully sleep in bed when he felt someone shoving him. He woke up and looked up to see the face of his mother looking at him. At first, he was confused and wondered if it was morning already. Then he saw the panicked expression on her face and realised something was wrong.

“What is it, mum?” he asked as he sat up in bed.

“There’s trouble outside and Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia are there as well,” Lakshmi told him worriedly.

Just then, Indra came in and said “It’s the Camdra Beast Clan and they seem to be here to take back Cantia from what I’ve heard that man shouting.”

“What?!” Lakshman exclaimed and he jumped out of bed.

Together, they quickly went downstairs. When they reached the ground floor, they suddenly felt a violent surge of energy from nearby. The shocking release of power and wind caused the twin baby sisters to start crying.

“We’ll look after the babies. You go out there and stop them!” Indra said to Lakshman as Lakshmi hurried into their room to tend to the babies.

“I got it, dad!” Lakshman said and he walked out of the house.

He was alarmed to see Ondine surging with blue aura and he realised she was really angry. The only times she becomes this enraged was when someone or something upsets her and Lakshman feared it had something to do with him.

Then he was shocked when Ondine charged forward and knocked two of the Camdra Beast Warriors aside before reaching the one appearing to be their leader. Lakshman realised things won’t end well and quickly transformed into the Phoenix Titan with great force.

At that moment, he saw Ondine jump back and the two warrior began to surge with fighting power. Realising he will not stop it, Lakshman decided he will force it to a stop. So he kicked off the ground and rocked towards them while soaring above them

Lakshman soared past Tetra and the girls and raced ahead Ondine. Then he soared high and landed heavily on the ground causing dust to rise up. Then he saw Ondine and the chief of the Camdra Beast Clan looking at him in surprise and he acted.

Lakshman raised his right elbow and smashed it into the chief’s face. As he sent him flying back, he used his left hand and grabbed Ondine’s face before pushing her away towards Tetra and the others.

As both sides caught their warrior, they looked towards where he stood. He did not know what was going on, but to suddenly fight out of the blue light that made him really angry.

“What the hell is going on here?!” he yelled angrily.

Lakshman looked back and forth between Ondine and the chief. Both were shaken by the powerful impact he had delivered.

The Camdra Beast Warriors were glaring at him angrily. Lakshman felt their anger and the rise in their power. He knew this was going to end up in a battle, but he wanted to know why it came to this.

Just then, with their anger peaked, the Camdra Beast Clan charged towards him with roar.

At that moment, the chief of the Camdra Beast Clan raised his hand high and shouted “Stop!”

Most of the clansmen stopped, but two broke free and charged at Lakshman. They were yelling madly while wielding long broadswords as they attempted to hit him. Lakshman faced them with narrowed eyes and a determined expression on his face.

The two warriors swung at him and were surprised their swords went right through him. Then Lakshman grabbed both of their heads and smashed them together with a powerful impact. As the two became limp, he let them fall to the ground and they lay there, unconscious.

The Camdra Beast Warriors were shocked at how easily he took them down. Lakshman looked down at the unconscious warriors and then looked at the eighteen remaining warriors angrily.

“What the hell is going on here?! Tell me! Why are you attacking us?!” he shouted furiously.

Ondine straightened up and said “Master! Their leader, that chief man over there, said some rude things about you!”

The chief got to his feet while rubbing his nose as blood slowly flowed out. Then he said “Young hot-headed miss believed I was lying and took it to me face to try and intimidate me!”

“Why wouldn’t I when you sprout nonsense about my master!” Ondine shouted and she began to walk forward.

At that moment, Lakshman shouted “Whatever they may have said about me, I don’t care!” Then he pointed at Ondine and said “Ondine! Stand down! Put that sword away!”

“Eh? B-But master...!” Ondine said in alarm.

“Ondine! Put it away!” Lakshman said one final time before turning back to face the eighteen Camdra Beast Warriors. “This is my home. I will not let it get touched by the dirty hands of violence!”

The chief snorted and said “You just used violence to take down two of my men...!”

Lakshman rounded on him and bellowed “Then what the hell will make them stop if I hadn’t, dammit?! Answer me! What would’ve made them stop if I didn’t make a move?!”

His voice echoed around the neighbourhood and caused everyone to go silence. Seeing that he will not be receiving any reply, Lakshman looked at them and firmly said “If there is any issue, let’s solve it without violence. We’re not wild monsters to attack each other, dammit!”

“W-What did you call us?!” one of the Camdra Beast Warriors said indignantly.

Just then, the chief raised his hand and they fell silent. He was looking at the boy that stood in front of him. He did not recognise that it was Lakshman due to the spiky blond hair and the red crown shaped eyes.

Then he sighed and said “Very well. We shall speak.”

With those simple words, the tension was smashed into pieces. Everyone sighed heavily and they sheathed their swords. Even Ondine sheathed her sword, but she continued to watch them suspiciously.

At that moment, she felt a heavy knock on her head. Ondine winced and she looked at who did it and was surprised to see Tetra looking at her crossly.

“What were you thinking attacking like that?!” Tetra asked her in an irritated voice.

“He was saying rude things about master! How could I stand that?!” Ondine said angrily.

Tetra clicked her tongue and hit Ondine several more times on the head while saying “Calm down! Calm down! It’s like master said, violence is not the solution to solve problems!”

“F-Fine...” Ondine said weakly as she clutched her head which hurt quite a bit.

They turned to watch as Lakshman and the chief of the Camdra Beast Clan began to talk to one another.

“I want you to return Cantia to our custody,” the chief said.

“Return her to you? Why?” Lakshman asked.

“It is too soon for her to go to her master.”

“Why is that? Do you have reasons for such decision?”

The chief nodded and said “Yes, we do. First of all, her future master is the Phoenix Titan, but right now he is dumb, stupid, careless and reckless. I fear he will put Cantia in danger by his actions!”

Lakshman chuckled at the chief’s words and said “I suppose that is true considering the kind of actions I performed several months ago.”

The chief looked puzzled and he asked “You? Why are you referring to yourself as if you were that boy?”

This caused Lakshman to smile ask “Don’t you recognise me? Just because I transformed into the Phoenix Titan, it doesn’t mean I have changed that much. See...? It’s only my hair and eyes. Can’t you recognise me now?”

The chief looked stunned for a moment by his words. Then he checked Lakshman’s face more closely and slowly said “No way... You’re... him...? Then... you’re...”

“Him. I’m him and I’m Phoenix Titan. I am both,” Lakshman said with a smile.

The chief’s eyes widened in shock and he began to shake his head as if to deny his words.

“No way... No way! That kid couldn’t have become so strong so fast!”

“Believe with your own two eyes. Power Down!”

With saying the command, Lakshman returned to his normal state. Seeing this, all the Camdra Beast Warriors let out voices of shock. Even the chief looked alarmed by suddenly finding himself staring at Lakshman, the man whom he was badmouthing about just now.

“You... When did you become able to transform into the Phoenix Titan?” the chief asked in disbelief.

“I was able to when I fought against the Demon Emperor,” Lakshman said and the chief widened his eyes in shock. Then Lakshman sighed and said “He was really powerful! If it weren’t for the transformation and the release of untold powers, I was able to defeat him easily!”

“Are you telling me... that you defeated the Demon Emperor... all by yourself?” the chief asked in voice of disbelief.

Lakshman nodded and said “I did, but I was trained pretty hard by the Phoenix Emperor and the Death Titan. Thanks to their hard training, I became strong enough to use my Phoenix Titan powers!”

As the Camdra Beast Clan were stunned by hearing those words, Lakshman muttered “That reminds me... I haven’t seen Sevedant anywhere while that was happening. I wonder why...? Hmm...” Then he shrug his shoulders and muttered “Oh well. I’m sure I’ll find out later in time.”

As he was muttering, the chief asked “You were trained by the Phoenix Emperor and the Death Titan of the Nine Pillars of Power? So they knew who you really were?”

Lakshman nodded at him and smiled as he said “That’s right. It was actually Felix who pointed it out and I came to realise my destiny. After that, the two of them trained me and... Yes! I’ve become this strong!”

“T-Then that power we saw just now... That form you took... It was the... Phoenix Titan form?”

Lakshman nodded at him. Then he focused his energy and surged with power. As he screamed, his surging power became stronger. His hair became spiky blonde and his eyes changed red crowned shapes.

Seeing the appearance of the Phoenix Titan, the chief and the rest of Camdra Beast Warriors stared in awe. Then, much to Lakshman and the girl’s surprise, their knelt down and bowed to him.

“Please forgive our rudeness, Phoenix Titan!” the chief said as he and his clan bowed down to Lakshman.

Lakshman was surprised at seeing the Camdra Beast Warriors and their chief bowing down to him. Due to the surprise, he subconsciously powered down and became slightly flustered.

“P-P-Please stand up! Stop bowing down to me!” Lakshman said quickly.

At his urging, the Camdra Beast Warriors stood up, but they continued to look at him in wonder. From the way they were looking at him, Lakshman thought they were looking at some sort of hero.

“Please forgive our rudeness in speaking about you, sir Phoenix!” the chief said in anguish.

“No, no! It’s fine, really, but why were you bowing down to me?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“Yes,” the chief said and nodded. Then he took a deep breath and began to tell him.

“The fact is, we of the Camdra Beast Clan have been serving the Phoenix Titan since ancient times! In ancient times, we were an endangered race constantly hunted by a group known as the Beast Hunters. That was when the first Phoenix Titan came to our rescue and saved out race from the Beast Hunters. After that, our ancestors forged an alliance with his clan, the Phoenix Clan.”

“What? You served the Phoenix Clan?” Lakshman asked in a surprised voice.

“Well... Our alliance was towards the Phoenix Clan, but we served the Phoenix Titan the most. Ever since then, our ancestors served every Phoenix Titan that was born in the Phoenix Clan! That was until... the Phoenix family disappeared.”

“The Phoenix family... disappeared? Do you mean the family the Phoenix Titan belonged to?” Lakshman asked and the chief nodded at him.

“That’s right. After so many years, the Phoenix family suddenly vanished. We searched for their whereabouts, but it was no use. Even then, the Phoenix Titan kept reappearing in history and marking that history with their glory.”

“I see. The last known Phoenix Titan was the one that died saving the world eight-thousand years ago, right?”

“That’s correct. After that, we have waited and waited for the return of the Phoenix, but it was no use. Eventually, we began to live far away from human societies so as to watch and be ready whenever you would rise again.”

“Eight-thousand years went by. What made your clan so confident I will be born?” Lakshman asked curiously.

The chief looked at Lakshman and smiled. Then he said “Truth be told... We did not believe the Phoenix Titan will be born again because our forefathers we gave up. We still used the star astrology to see the destiny of each of us and that was when Cantia’s astrology made us become aware of the rise of a new Phoenix Titan.”

Lakshman nodded in understanding and said “I see... So that’s why you shadowed me as I played with the young Water Spirits and Kitty.”

“Eh? You observed us playing and all?” Cantia asked in a surprised voice.

The chief nodded and said “We did for your protection. Although we still possess loyalty to the Phoenix Titan, we were not sure if the new born Phoenix Titan was good or bad.”

“Ah...! So that’s why you came to realise I’m careless and reckless. That’s why you thought to let her join me when I turn sixteen. It’s because of how mature I will become by that age and be accepted as a man within society, right?”

“You’re correct, sir Phoenix,” the chief said and he smiled. Then he sighed and said “Well then... It’s time we leave you all alone.”

“Eh? You’re not going to take me back?” Cantia asked in amazement.

The chief shook his head and said “Why should I when the young man has awakened to his destiny. He is your master and will always be your master. Serve him well and make sure not to make the Camdra Beast Clan look bad, okay?”

With that, the chief turned around and began walking away with the rest of his clan. The two people that Lakshman knocked out were being carried over their shoulders.

Cantia hesitated for a moment. Then she ran forward and said “Thank you very much for looking after me when my parents died, chief!”

With that, she bowed. The chief continued to walk, but a smile spread across his battle scared face. Then the fog began to thicken and the Camdra Beast Warriors disappeared.

Lakshman watched them go with a smile. Once they disappeared, his smile turned into a frown as he thought about everything the chief told him. The disappearance of the Phoenix Titan, yet the continued resurrection of the Phoenix Titan in random places. He wondered why there was eight-thousand years of gap being born again.

“Eight-thousand years... Eight-thousand years... Why wait that long? What’s so special eight-thousand years later after the previous Phoenix Titan’s death?”

Lakshman did not realise that he was saying it out loud. At that moment, Ondine hit his back and said “Don’t worry, master! We’ll find out why together!”

“That’s right, master! You’re not alone in this! We’re also with you and, together, we can uncover the mystery!” Emilia said when she walked over to him.

“Stilll-nyaa... Isn’t the birth controlled by the gods-nyaa? Maybe the gods know-nyaa?” Cantia asked curiously.

“Of course they do! Gods know everything! We’ll meet these gods and demand answers!” Ondine said fiercely. Then she punched the air and shouted “Hey, gods! Are you hearing me! Get ready cause’ we’ll be coming to pay you a visit soon!”

“O-Ondine, stop! You’ll make the gods angry!” Lakshman said, but he was chuckling happily.

Then Tetra walked up and hugged his right arm before saying “Well... You’ll be needing me, master. I’m your blade after all.”

“Don’t forget me! I’m your strength!” Ondine said energetically and she hugged his left arm.

“Whatever will you do without a cook like me?!” Emilia said indignantly as she hugged Lakshman from behind.

Cantia looked flustered as the three of them went and hugged Lakshman. Then she plucked up courage, ran up and hugged him from the front as she said “I-I’m master’s support!”

The Ondine laughed and said “Good! We have the full circle! Now onto the future we stride and achieve victory!”

Lakshman laughed and he asked Ondine “Was that a line you cry before going to war? I think we should avoid that for a while.”

“Eh?!” Ondine said in a surprised voice.

Lakshman laughed and, as he punched his fist into the air, he shouted “Whatever the future might be, we’ll be there!”

“Yes!” the girls chorused with him and they punched their fists into the air.

Smiling happily, Lakshman looked up at the sky as sunlight began streaming down. He has a big mystery so solve about himself, but he was ready. He has his companions, he had the power of the Phoenix Titan and the determination to achieve it. Just like the sunlight breaking through the clouds, Lakshman will break through the clouded mysteries surrounding the Phoenix Titan.

Author's Note

End of "Arc 07: Proving"